Derby
by lrhaboggle
Summary: June and Cora personally attend a Derby for the very first time. (Plotless fluff. Late post of something I got inspired to write on the actual Derby Day).


"Ready?" June asked Cora eagerly.

"Ready!" Cora replied with a small, shy smile. June's own grin grew as Cora said this and she offered Cora her arm with a regal flourish. Cora laughed at this playful mannerism from June and willingly took the extended arm with a dainty tilt of the head. Today was May 17, 1930, and it was time for the Kentucky Derby. Now, June and Cora had watched several other derbies before, but this was the first time they were attending in person and the excitement was indescribable!

There was something about the smell of the track and the horses. There was something about the clear sky and the bright hats set against the green field and sienna track. There was something about the sound of chattering and nickering, money being placed into betting pools and all manner of food being consumed. There was just something about being here live and in person that made the derby all the more magical. The atmosphere was wonderful, a perfect balance of tension and excitement. Nothing would ever beat seeing a live race. On TV, it was small, contained and colorless. Here, in person, it was bright, warm and real, bursting with life and energy. Birds were chirping, people were singing and laughing, food was being eaten and sold. It was something you couldn't get on TV.

In both girls' opinion, however, the best part of this, the 56th derby, was getting the chance to just go out and have fun _together_. To June and Cora, what made this derby exceptionally amazing was the fact that they were sharing this first-time experience. Getting to see the reactions of the other was just as much fun as seeing the race itself, in their minds. This was going to be a wonderful day, they could just feel it in their bones!

"Come on then, let's get some good seats," June urged, but she was being ironic. All the best seats were far too expensive for them to pay for and the seats that they could afford were mostly already filled up. Oh, there were still some good spots, but both she and Cora knew they wouldn't be anywhere fancy. Cora played along, however, and allowed June to escort her to their seats. But even after the two found their seats, it still took a moment of fidgeting to get in place. It was because of June's ridiculous derby hat.

Even though large and garish hats were tradition, June's was crazy! Its brim was obnoxiously and impossibly long and wide so it bumped into everyone's head at least once and June had all manner of random knickknacks hanging off of its long brim. She had little bracelets and gems, pieces of paper and candy wrappers, pretty much anything she found around her apartment with Cora went onto that hat. Cora had chosen something a little smaller and far simpler, just decorating hers with flowers and a painting of the derby logo. In June's mind, as pretty as it was, it was kind of boring, but at least no one glared at Cora for her hat smacking into someone's face.

After awhile, though, the two girls were finally seated properly. After taking their spots on the benches, they both exhaled in excitement. Although June and Cora were both planning on going into filming in the future, they shared a deep love and knowledge of horses.

"But these aren't idle fillies like on my uncle's farm!" June declared excitedly. "These are stallions!"

"And who are we cheering for?" Cora asked eagerly.

"Dick O'Hara," June replied.

"What? Why? I thought we were rooting for Broadway Limited together!" Cora frowned, but then June gave her a sly look and it hit her. "Ohhhh, yeah. That's right. I get it now. Real mature, June!" the brunette made sure to roll her eyes as she spoke.

"What can I say?!" June asked with a laugh. "Besides, he's a big horse, and you know I like big d-"

"You're supposed to be with me!" Cora interrupted, pretending to whine.

"You also know that I swing both ways," June shrugged with a smirk, even cocking her head at one particularly muscled jockey.

"Lucky you," Cora snorted, not even bothering to look at the guy June was ogling this time.

"Don't be sore, you know I think you're the gnat's whistle!" June reminded her friend and Cora couldn't help but smile at that.

A moment later, the race began. The chatter died down as the countdown began. June and Cora leaned forward in their seats. As did every other 40,000 spectators. And then, they were off. 15 powerful young stallions took off out of the gate, hooves pounding like thunder against the track. The crowd cheered as the horses raced around the track, positions switching back and forth as hooves continued to kick dust sky-high.

"Come on, Dick, come on Dick, come on! Harder and faster, man, come on!" June hollered. A few ladies sitting in front of her turned around with disgust upon their wrinkled faces, but neither June nor even Cora, for that matter, cared.

"Go BL! Go!" Cora was almost standing. That was how you knew it was intense. If you were able to get Cora up and screaming, it was intense. All around her and June, other rowdy and hopeful spectators urged on their chosen horses as the race went on.

When the derby ended, it was funny because the race had seemed too fast and too slow at the same time. On the one hand, everyone could hardly believe it was over when it ended, but at the same time, there was a collective sigh of relief as a winner was declared. It felt as though the reveal had been brewing for several hours instead of a mere two minutes.

"Ha! I won! I won! I won!" June stood up and began cheering for herself. Now, she hadn't meant that Dick had won. On the contrary, he came in dead last. But when Dick made no move to advance in position, June jokingly challenged Cora to bet with her on the two horses who were actually in the lead. They were Gallant Fox and Gallant Knight. Cora chose Knight and June chose Fox, fitting choices for both girls. Ultimately, Fox won. (Broadway Limited had come in 9th).

"Oh, whatever!" Cora pretended to frown, but she was far too thrilled to care. She and June hadn't bet anyway, and, technically, they lost. Their original horses came in 9th and last. So there was nothing lost on them, but already, Cora could see several men either throwing tantrums or sulking off because they had lost. The few men who had bet correctly, however, looked beside themselves with ecstasy.

But after all the fanfare finally died down, the track got quieter, little by little. Then, finally, all of Churchill Downs was entirely empty.

"What do you want to do now?" June asked Cora.

"Well, let's not go back to our hotel just yet," the brunette said. "How about we just walk around the city a bit, eh?"

"And then maybe we can grab some dinner!" June agreed, catching on. "Sounds like a date!"

"Oh, so we're dating now?" Cora teased. June paused, having not meant to have actually said that out loud.

"I guess," she grunted finally, blushing.

"Is the great June Freeman actually blushing!?" Cora squealed teasingly. "Never thought I'd live to see the day!"

"Oh, shut it, Stein!" June grumbled good-naturedly, then the pair left the track the same way they had come in: arm in arm with smiles as bright and wide as the sky itself.

 **AN: I know Derby is long-over, but I got the inspiration to write this while watching 2018 Derby. I just didn't have time to write it out until now. Also, this is legit based on the 1930 Derby. You can check the wiki page. (Almost) everything should be historically accurate. Also, also, I remember when they said Justify won and all I could think was, "TESTIFY!"**

 **Also, also, also, you all know how they compare June and her friends to fillies. I like the idea that if the applicants were all fillies, they'd be these sweet, pretty little horses that loved to prance around and cart human loads while June would be that rebellious jerk of a horse that threw her riders for fun, rolled around in mud, ate everything in sight, and never did a single thing she was told. The other horses would be tame, but she would be that jerk-wad horse for sure, to the amusement and despair of the rest of her more well-behaved paddock and to any human owners trying to ride her.**


End file.
